​In today’s Sprout’s Farmer’s Market Q2 16 Earnings Release call, Sprouts highlighted its continued strength in top line, bottom line, and comp sales trends. It also fielded a question from a financial analyst that represented the short term view institutional firms take, the financial pummeling investors in public natural product stocks have taken, and the skepticism that the financial community has for how much runway exists for wellness in America.

The last 18+ months of competitive headwinds and deep investments to reinvent themselves in the new normal have taken their toll on stock prices at Whole Foods, UNFI, Hain, and others. True that stock price is a reflection of recent as well as predicted future performance, and aside from the “I’ll believe it when I see it” cautionary approach of sell side analysts, part of the pessimistic outlook within the financial community stems from three things: